Alex continued down the corridor thinking about what he had just seen. He forgot about it as soon as he entered the lab and was accosted by Siddiq.

  “Hey, I could use your input,” Siddiq exclaimed, rushing to him with a clipboard in hand.

  “Good morning to you too,” said Alex with a half grin.

  “No time for pleasantries! I need your input on my design. I am so stressed about this. Reshma wants me to have a plan drawn up for tomorrow,” Siddiq sighed.

  “Dont stress. Let’s see what you have. What exactly do you want my opinion on?” Alex asked, taking the clipboard from Siddiq and reading through the notes.

  “Check my calculations first. Then I want to show you the presentation I came up with. If my numbers are good, then I should be ok. I am starting to feel like this is a stupid idea though. What if Reshma thinks so too and he is just trying to make me a laughing stalk?” he gulped, sweat speckled his brow.

  “Breath. I was told there are no stupid ideas here. Only ones that don’t work. We all have the same goal in mind. It’s going to be ok.” Alex patted him on the shoulder and steered him towards the work station he had been using. “Pull up your presentation.” he said, flipping through the clipboard pages still.

  “Ok,” Siddiq sighed, sitting down at the computer. “Man, how are you so calm all the time?”

  “I was a teacher's assistant at a college when they pulled me. All I dealt with was stressed out students. Literally was my job.” Alex chuckled. “I guess in a way I was made for this.”

  “Okay this is what I have so far. Presentation wise anyway.” Siddiq said, biting his nails as he stood up so Alex could sit.

  “Alright let me check something first. Are your calculations in here too?” he asked as he started scrolling through. Siddiq leaned in and pointed out where they were. “Ok, check this section here again,” Alex said, letting Siddiq notate it. “Let me look at the presentation piece.” After about twenty minutes Alex sat back and raised his right hand to his chin in a pondering action.

  “What? It's awful isn't it. Oh man I am going to have to redo the whole thing aren't I?” Siddiq said, pacing around Alex.

  “Well I have graded many projects over the last few semesters.” Alex started. “If I had to give this a grade I would give you an A.” Alex smiled.

  “Only an A?!” Siddiq exclaimed.

  “Well you need to check those calculations. I think they need tweaking but that is only my opinion.” Alex said as he got up from the chair and stretched. Siddiq sat down and they started to look over everything together when the door opened. Looking towards the door a disheveled Zayd walked in.

  “Are you good Zayd? You look like crap,” Siddiq said.

  “I’m fine,” he replied briskly as he grabbed a lab coat and made his way to the back of the room.

  “What got in his coffee this morning?” Siddiq muttered.

  “I don't know,” Alex answered. “Let me go talk to him.” Siddiq grunted a reply and turned back to the computer. Alex walked towards Zayd. “Hey man, you alright?”

  “Yeah, I’m good,” Zayd replied briskly.

  “I saw you in the courtyard on my way to the lab this morning. Who was that big guy you were talking to? I saw him yesterday too,” Alex asked.

  “Oh, uh, he is with, uh, from the, uh Capital,” Zayd muttered, stumbling through his words.

  “Right, I figured that part since I had not seen him before. What were you guys talking about?” Alex asked.

  “Uh he was just asking about the team and what we were working on,” Zayd said

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  dismissively.

  “Seemed kind of like an intense conversation from afar,” Alex said, trying to keep his tone casual.

  “Well it wasn't. Why do you care anyway?” he snapped.

  Alex put his hands up and took a step back, “I was just curious, all good man.”

  “Whatever,” Zayd muttered as he grabbed some of the loose material and made his way towards the press where Evalyn and Reshma were talking. Alex stared after him for a moment. Something is off with him, he thought to himself. After a moment he walked over to join the others.

  “Alright team,” Reshma started. “Yesterday we went through all the calculations, experiment numbers and results. We recalibrated the press and checked all its gears. I want to spend today running experiments, tracking the numbers, comparing results, and putting all the information together for a presentation tomorrow. Our review will be around 1pm tomorrow. So we will need to stay late and get here early. If I could, I would just have you all sleep here!” he chuckled. Evalyn smiled coyly at him and Zayd frowned. “Right,” he said as he cleared his throat. “Let’s get to it then.”

  Zayd took the materials he grabbed previously to the press and set it up. Evalyn read off the numbers and Alex entered them into the system. Reshma pulled the lever and the press lowered. They all watched, holding their breath. As the press released and raised, disappointed groans filled the air.

  “It’s ok. Let's make the adjustments and try again.” Reshma said calmly. They all nodded and prepared to set up the next try.

  “Reshma?” Siddiq called.

  “Yes?” Reshma replied not turning from the computer he was at.

  “When you have a chance can you come and look over everything? I think I am ready for tomorrow,” Siddiq said as he stretched.

  “Really? I would love to. You three go ahead and continue on,” he said as he stood and headed to Siddiq’s station.

  “You heard him,” Evalyn said quietly. “You guys ready?”

  “Putting the last number in now,” Alex said.

  “Alright,”she said. “Here we go.” As she pulled the lever Alex put his hands in his lab coat. Harden, he thought, concentrating his thoughts at the material on the table. As the press released Evalyn gave an audible gasp as her eyes widened.

  “We did it!” she said, calling Reshma over. Reshma jumped up and headed over to them. Alex smiled, his hands still in his lab coat pockets. He looked over to Zayd who was staring at him. Feeling uncomfortable he gave a half grin and walked towards Evalyn. They went to the press table and looked at the results. Reshma picked up the stone and looked it over.

  Return, Alex thought, staring at the rock. Instantly it crumbled back into the raw material. Zayd’s head snapped towards Alex and he suppressed his grin by biting the inside of his cheek.

  “What!?” Resham exclaimed as he dusted his hands.

  “I, I don't think that has ever happened,” Evalyn stammered.

  I probably shouldn't do that too much, Alex thought, glancing at Zayd who was still staring at him. What is with him today?

  “I am going to go back to looking over Siddiq’s presentation. Make sure to document everything and set up the next one.” Reshma expressed a slight disappointment in his tone. Reshma returned to Siddiq’s station and the two returned to reviewing his presentation. The day continued but Alex had decided he shouldn't mess with the results. It wouldn't be good if the device was showing positive results but in actuality it was him. Every time they ran an experiment he noted that Zayd would be watching him. What is his problem? He thought again.

  After another hour of experimenting, Reshma returned to the group. A while later Siddiq joined them.

  “Ready for tomorrow?” Alex asked him.

  “As ready as I am going to be,” he gulped. “Actually, I am starving. Anyone else want some food? I will go and get it.”

  They all nodded and decided the easiest thing to share was pizza. Siddiq left to go and get them their lunch. After a couple more runs of experiments Siddiq came back and they took a short break to eat. They continued working well into the night until they were all yawning.

  “Alright team, let's call it here. Get some rest and let's be back as soon as possible in the morning,” Reshma said, suppressing a yawn. They all nodded and gathered their things to leave.

  “Hey wanna grab some food before we head to bed? I want to talk to you about my presentation real quick,” Siddiq asked Alex quietly.

  “Sure I could eat,” Alex said. They waved to the others and rode to the food court area of the recreation center. As they rode Alex looked back and saw that Zayd was walking towards Laboratory 4 building. He noticed Zayd look around before swiping to enter the building. Why is he going in there?